Many attempts have been made in the prior art to apply discrete articles, such as peanuts, raisins, or the like, to an outer surface of a moving, continuous, rope of a comestible material. The rope may be an extrudate rope, or it may be formed by rolling or other forming operations.
In the prior art, making of a confectionery product is accomplished as follows.
Where an extrudate rope is to be processed by application thereto, the extrudate rope 100 can be formed by extrusion through an opening while the rope is hot. The extrudate, shortly after being extruded, being relatively thick and hot, must be cooled so that it does not either fall apart or flatten during further processing. While following a cooling path the extrudate rope 100 can be stretched.
The extrudate rope at this early stage is slightly non-uniform, and is preferrably cooled along a relatively long path during which it is preferrably stretched at a pair of rollers so as to be suspended and so as to be formed by stretching into a relatively uniform size. While suspended the extrudate rope, which is preferrably composed of fudge at this point, can be surrounded by caramel at a nozzle inlet and can thereby be is coated by the caramel which adheres to the fudge.
At this point, the extrudate rope passes through a trough containing peanuts so that peanuts surround the extrudate rope 100. The caramel, being sticky, causes some of the peanuts to adhere to the extrudate rope 100. The extrudate rope, at this point, is relatively cool and resists stretching, so that further operations can be made upon the extrudate rope 100.
The extrudate rope is then cut by a guillotine cutter into bars having a relatively uniform length. The bars are then inspected to see that a relatively uniform coating of peanuts is maintained upon each bar. Due to the uneven distribution of peanuts upon some of the bars, those bars must be rejected. During this process, approximately 30% of the bars must be rejected for uneven peanut distribution. This is a significant problem which is addressed by the present invention.
Although a single extrudate rope has been discussed, ordinarily multiple rows of extrudate ropes are processed simultaneously. In one apparatus, for example, 16 rows across are used. The extrudate rope of fudge which is initially formed, is formed into a relatively square sided bar. After coating with caramel and peanuts, the bar assumes a somewhat more rounded shape.
Due to U.S. Government labeling requirements, as well as due to the requirements that the end product fit properly into standardized packages, it is an important problem in the art to form more uniform products including a relatively uniform bar shape and size and a more uniform coating of peanuts that is well-predictable. Thus, in keeping with the weight specified on the package labels, a highly uniform product can be made so as to very slightly exceed or equal the package labeling requirements. Also, as to ingredients, a highly uniform product results in less rejection loss where rejection loss occurs due to failure to meet the package labeling specification of ingredients and weight. The present invention addresses these problems.
If automated packaging techniques and machinery are to be used in connection with the end products of the present invention, i.e. candy bars, uniform peanut deposition is crucial. Also, during the operations to arrange the bars for packaging, the bars will rub together and unless the peanuts are uniformly well-embedded in the bar substrate, peanuts may fall off.
Following deposition of the peanuts, a chocolate coating is dripped on the product. After cooling, this chocolate-coated bar forms the end product. This end product is referred to hereinafter as candy bars.
Several attempts have been made in the prior art to attack the above-identified problems. Fogt in U.S. Pat. No. 2,032,962, teaches a fruit and nut feeding mechanism; Evanson et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,245,360, teaches an apparatus for forming a confectionery product; Zeun, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,566,712, teaches a machine for depositing nuts on candy bars; and Zeun in U.S. Pat. No. 2,547,516, teaches another type of machine for depositing nuts on candy bars.
In Evanson, an apparatus for forming a confectionery product is shown, the confectionery product having nougat, caramel, and nuts as seen in FIG. 23 (for a round product) and in FIG. 24 (for a square cross sectional product). A nut dispenser assembly is shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4. A dispenser housing 48 has an impeller 52 with impeller blades 53 mounted on a drum 54 thereof. The impeller is keyed to one end of an impeller shaft 59. The final product has a nougat center that is coated with caramel and a layer of salted nuts which are at least partially embedded in the caramel. The impeller 52, through its rotation deposits a layer of salted peanuts on the belt 43. The sidewalls of the dispenser serves to retain nuts on the belt. A vibrator 13 spreads the nuts in an even layer as shown in FIG. 17. The belt travels under a caramel dispenser nozzle 202. If the caramel is too hot, it will melt the nougat; if too cold, it will not properly adhere to the peanuts.
The fruit and nut feeding mechanism of Fogt introduces pieces of edible solids such as fruits or nuts into a flowing stream of plastic comestible material such as semi-frozen ice cream, water ice, or sherbet. Fogt attempts to avoid crushing of the solid edible pieces such as fruits or nuts during dispensing thereof. A plurality of pockets are movable into position to receive the solid articles by gravity directly from an outlet of a hopper. Also, a mechanism is used to stir a mass of solid pieces in a hopper to maintain a flow of pieces. Each pocket is periodically moved into and out of communication with the confined path of travel of the plastic stream and the contents of each pocket are forcably injected into the flowing stream. The mouth of the pockets are sealed as they pass from charging to discharging position, and from discharging to charging position. Lifting fingers are provided near the hopper outlet. These are operated by operating rods which lie close to the inclined wall of the hopper. The fingers stir up the mass of articles only near the discharge end of the hopper where jamming is most likely to take place.
A machine for depositing nuts on candy bars, shown in Zeun '712 employs a plurality of rods 79 which are actuated to press peanuts into an underlying substrate, which substrate is edible. A rotary carrier employs a vacuum communicating with pockets 50, which pockets suck peanuts into pockets 50 and pockets pass beneath a peanut hopper full of peanuts. As the pockets pass from the hopper to a discharge position above the edible candy bars, the nuts are retained in the pockets by suction and also by a shield 84. When the pockets reach the discharge position above the candy bars 51, cams force tubes 75 outwardly, causing pins 78 and 79 to close ports 62 and 63 and cut off the vacuum from the pockets 50 and 50a. Further, the outward movement of the pins 78, 79, by engagement with the peanuts in the pockets, positively ejects the nuts from the pockets and pushes them into the upper surface of the candy bars.
Another type of machine for depositing nuts on candy bars is seen in Zeun '516. Here, a device is shown which is similar to that described in the above relating to the Zeun '712 reference. Here, a rotary agitator 60 has a plurality of wiper blades 63 formed of flexible material. This causes nuts which not entered openings 30 in the plate to be pushed into the openings and also to move the nuts away from an in turned branch 65. An arctuate shield 71 retains the nuts in the openings 30 as the drum rotates the peanuts to a point directly overlying a candy bar. The shield terminates at a point at which it is desired that the peanuts fall onto the candy bar. Furthermore, pins 110 act to push each peanut into the candy bars as the peanuts are deposited. Here, no vacuum need be used.